'Mrs Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf

1925

Intro

Virginia Woolf was one of the most innovative and experimental English writers of her time. This extract is taken from the working draft of one of her most admired novels - Mrs Dalloway, first published in 1925. In her own handwriting, we see her explore a new style of writing called 'stream of consciousness', in which the imprint of experience and emotion on the inner lives of characters is as important as the stories they act out. The technique aims to give readers the impression of being inside the mind of the character - an internal view that illuminates plot and motivation in the novel. Thoughts spoken aloud are not always the same as those "on the floor of the mind", as Woolf put it.